Richard Sherman tweets suspension overturned; big win for Seahawks

As if the surging Seattle Seahawks did not already look dangerous enough for the other NFC playoff teams, it now appears that they will have top cornerback Richard Sherman available for the postseason. Sherman, who had been facing a four-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy, tweeted Thursday that he had won his appeal to overturn that pending punishment.

When asked about the appeals process following Seattle's Sunday night win over San Francisco, Sherman said that he was "incredibly optimistic and added that the league "broke rules you can't break" during the investigation. Sherman also said, earlier this week, that he likely would sue the NFL if his suspension was upheld

Sherman and fellow Seattle cornerback Brandon Browner were each hit with four-game suspensions at the end of November, reportedly for the use of Adderall. Browner opted to serve his suspension right away so he could be available for the playoffs. Sherman then filed his appeal -- had he lost, he would have missed Week 17 plus any Seattle postseason games prior to the Super Bowl.

Instead, the Seahawks now will have both Sherman and Browner available for the playoffs. Unless San Francisco loses to Arizona on Sunday (and Seattle knocks off St. Louis), the Seahawks will open on the road against the NFC East champion -- either Dallas or Washington.

And, regardless of the opponent, the Seahawks will feel good about the matchup in the secondary. Browner and Sherman stuffed Dallas' Dez Bryant during a Week 2 Seattle win, and that duo would have an edge on the Redskins' corps of Josh Morgan, Santana Moss and Pierre Garcon.

The other subplot in this latest development is that Sherman was snubbed from the Pro Bowl roster, released Wednesday, quite possibly because of the stigma that comes with a PED suspension. Had his suspension been upheld, Sherman would have been ineligible to participate in the Pro Bowl. Now, Sherman, who did claim a place as an alternate, could play in that game if Seattle falls short of the Super Bowl -- but he probably deserved a starting spot.

That's a secondary situation for now, though. The key news here is that it looks like Sherman will be around for the playoffs, making Seattle an even bigger threat.